Some are saying that Samsung will be releasing Value Packs as mere enhanced Android 2.3 Gingerbread update while XDA reported that it might be Ice Cream Sandwich with lite-version of TouchWiz.

Now it seems that the Galaxy S will not be getting anything at all according to the latest update by TNW, citing that hardware limitation that’s optimised for Gingerbread experience. There’s no mention of Galaxy Tab but it is likely to face the same fate as well. Is this the end of it? Or will we see another U-turn reaction again?

After getting lots of flak for abandoning its previous star models, Samsung seems to be making a U-turn on its decision and is reconsidering them for its OS upgrade exercise. We all know that it is not impossible for the Galaxy S since its similar Nexus S model is able to run Ice Cream Sandwich perfectly.

On the memory limitation, perhaps Samsung would need to scale back on some of its TouchWiz custom skin in order to maintain a fluid user experience. As usual, no datelines were given but probably will come after the first wave of ICS update which is happening in Q1 2012.

It is official that the original Samsung Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab will not be getting some Ice Cream Sandwich loving. A few days ago, they have announced that the latest Android update will be coming to recent models including the Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note, Tab 7.0 Plus, Tab 8.9 & Tab 10.1.

So what’s the reason for leaving Galaxy S & the original 7″ Galaxy Tab out? Samsung explains that the combination of TouchWiz skin, video calling features, widgets and localisation as a hindrance for a possible update. Another reasoning is the lack of available memory capacity. To blame it on hardware is very unlikely as its similar spec’ed Nexus S has started receiving the Android software upgrade as we speak. Of course this isn’t the end of the road as the adventurous ones should be able to get their Ice Cream Sandwich update through custom ROMs.

Now this makes the Galaxy Nexus even more tempting to get when it is released in Malaysia next month. Being a “pure google” device, you can be confident that it will be next in line to get the latest OS updates.

Best Buy — a popular consumer electronics retailer in the US — has started pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9. Two versions are available, a 16GB WiFi version for US$469.99 and a 32GB WiFi version that will be selling for US$569.99. The pre-order page however didn’t yet include a launch date for the device.

We have been told that the Galaxy Tab 8.9 will be making it to Malaysia in about a month’s time after the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. We’re nearing the one month mark since the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was launch but we haven’t seen any indication that Samsung Malaysia is planning another launch soon. It’s either that they really nothing planned at the moment or they are keeping a very tight lid on things.

Either way, with the US pricing of the Galaxy Tab 8.9 now a known quantity, it gives us some indication of how much the device might retail for when it comes to Malaysia.

In this instance we’re pegging the Galaxy Tab 8.9 (16GB WiFi) to retail in the range of RM1,600 to RM1,500. We’re using the US retail price of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and its difference with the Malaysia selling price as a marker, which means our estimate, at the moment, is an educated at best. Even so, it looks some may see the Galaxy Tab 8.9 as expensive.

But for those who are waiting for the Galaxy Tab 8.9, don’t you worry. We’ll keep a close eye on things. When we get the latest details, you’ll know it.

For those that feel 10″ tablet is too huge to handle, Samsung is also having the Galaxy Tab 8.9, which offers smaller dimensions with its 8.9″ screen. What you see above is one of the early hands on of the 8.9″ variant.

Compared to its larger Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, there are some differences in terms of placement. The stereo speakers are located at the bottom while the power and volume rocker are placed at the top.

The rest of the specs should be similar with its Galaxy Tab 10.1. Which Tab would you go for? The 10.1″ or the 8.9″?

Our meet up with the Samsung Malaysia product guys today revealed a great deal of information about the Galaxy Tab 10.1. All that is left to be revealed is the device’s launch date and final pricing. We don’t have the exact information on this but the first week of August is looking rather good.

Anyway. In the same meet another interesting nugget of information was revealed. Samsung Malaysia will complete Samsung’s tablet trio by bringing in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 to Malaysia as well. Right now, all we have are preliminary information but it seems the boys at Samsung Malaysia have all this planned out since a while back.

The Galaxy Tab 8.9 will be launched around one month after the 10.1 hits Malaysian stores. So if the Galaxy Tab 10.1 comes out this month, the 8.9 could be here sometime around September or October.

In term of specifications, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 has virtually identical internals with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 save for the fact that its screen is smaller at 8.9-inches.

And that’s all we know for now. As always, pricing and other bits of information with regards to the 8.9 is not available at the moment — but as soon as we know, you’ll know.

For those of you that’s been been wondering if the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 features a Gorilla Glass strengthened display, here’s an official answer.

Corning has announced that their Gorilla Glass strengthened glass is featured on the Galaxy Tab 10.1

Here’s the official word:

GALAXY Tab 10.1 is recognized for its high-end technology and amazing design, even among industry experts. For the GALAXY Tab 10.1, Samsung Electronics searched for the most durable, scratch-resistant glass, and again found the perfect solution with Corning Gorilla Glass.

So now you know. But even so, don’t think everything with Gorilla Glass in unbreakable. Strengthened doesn’t mean invincible as this drop test reveals.

Still, its good to know that the soon to be launched in Malaysia Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is protected to some degree. But then again, can any tablet or smartphone afford not to have some sort of strengthened glass on its displays nowadays? We think not.

The deal is applicable on 4 U Mobile postpaid plans with monthly commitments from RM68 to RM168 a month. Contract duration is 18 months for the lower 3 plans – U Lite, U Value & U Plus and 24 months for the highest U Premium plan. It is mentioned that only credit card auto-debit is accepted as mode of payment. If you do plan to sign up, there’s an upfront payment of 6 months subscription for U Lite & U Value and 4 months for U Plus and U Premium. This is the lowest Samsung Galaxy Tab bundle at RM399 right now as the previous lowest offer was RM668 with Celcom Exec 250.

To make the deal sweeter, they are giving out RM20 Starbucks vouchers for the first 100 that picked up the Samsung Galaxy Mini and a Vertex Bluetooth headset for the first 50 that subscribes for the Samsung Galaxy Tab. They are also giving a chance to win a 43″ HD Grade Plasma for the first 100 subscribers for these packages.

For more information, head over to U Mobile’s Samsung bundled offerings here.

When the iPhone 4 was launched by Celcom, they have also introduced a new microsite dedicated for smartphones, which includes Android, Blackberry, iPhone and Windows Phone 7.

Surprisingly we also noticed from the site that Samsung Galaxy Tab is now offered at a much reduced price from only RM668 with 18 months contract of Celcom Exec 250. For those who wish to get something lower, the Galaxy Tab goes for RM1188 with Celcom Exec 50 + mBasic 38 which comes with 1GB of data at only RM88/month commitment. You can check this out over at Celcom’s new smartphone site.

In fact with the coming of the iPad 2 and other newer Android devices such as the HTC Flyer, the RRP for the Samsung Galaxy Tab has been reduced to RM1599. That’s a massive RM1100 drop from its original RM2699 price tag during launch.

You might have known that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 which is also known as the Samsung Galaxy Tab II was revealed at MWC just a while ago. After the announced of the iPad 2 that underwent a strict diet, Samsung had brought the 10.1 back to the drawing board. As a result, they have redesigned the tablet which now weighs 595 grams and with reduced thickness of just 8.6mm, which is 0.2mm thinner than the iPad 2. As comparison, the earlier 10.1 was 599 grams and 10.9mm thick.

In terms of hardware specs, it features a 1280×800 XGA display, dual core 1GHz processor, stereo surround speakers and 6800mAh battery which provides up to 10 hours of usage. As expected, it runs on Android 3.0 Honeycomb but with Samsung’s customised TouchWiz 4.0 skin.

In terms of connectivity, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will have support for 4G in a form of HSPA+ and they will be coming out LTE and WiMAX versions later. For enhanced reception, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 comes with dual antennas.